The Olympics is a fantastic occasion that brings together the world's top athletes to participate in 42 different sports. I had the privilege of attending numerous events during the London 2012 Olympics and am eagerly anticipating the upcoming games in Paris.
In conjunction with the games, Gibson has introduced two new games for families to enjoy and immerse themselves in the Olympic spirit. "Go for Gold" is a fast and easy matching card game, while "Ready Set Win" is a strategic hand management and set collection game where players compete in various finals using the hands they have built throughout the game. Lets take at look at them both here in our Olympic Games Special: Go For Gold & Ready Set Win Board Game Reviews.
Go For Gold - 2-8 players - 10 minutes game length
Go For Gold works very simply. Shuffle all the cards and deal out 15-25 cards face down into a playing deck. You can decide how many you want based on the length of the game you want to play. Leave the rest of the deck face down, but then deal six face-up cards into a central row.
When all players are ready, flip the top card from the playing deck face up. All players now play simultaneously in real-time, racing to take any of the six cards that match the face-up playing card. Cards match if they have either the same sport icon on it, or the same number of sports.
Players can only take one card at a time and only use one hand. Once all matching cards have been taken, players reveal the cards they took for all players to check if there was a match. If so, they keep the card for end game scoring. If not, they must return that card, along with one other from the collection (if they have any) as punishment.
Play continues like this until all cards from the playing deck have been flipped over. Players then group their cards into the eight different categories, and count how many sports they have for each category. Players are awarded a gold, silver, or bronze medal for collecting the most sports in each set, and the medals award you with three, two, or one point respectively. When all medals have been handed out, calculate your final score, the most points win!
Go for Gold is a quick, enjoyable, and family-friendly game that can be completed in a matter of minutes. It is easy to learn and play with almost anyone, and its fast-paced nature ensures that you will be engaged and having a good time immediately. The game is more enjoyable with a larger group, it can get a bit competitive with just two players. However, adding more players increases the fun, with everyone vying to grab the cards and resulting in more laughter! It is an excellent choice for casual family gatherings or for playing with friends at a pub!
The cards are a little low quality, which is a shame, and it makes shuffling them difficult, and they will get bent and damaged easily. But other than that, this is a lovely little game, with the perfect theme for the summer.
Ready Set Win- 2-6 Players - 30/45 mins Game Length
In Ready Set Win, players are competing over a series of six rounds, to build up their hand, in order to compete in six different finals. The idea is you are training up your teams each round, ready to win gold when the time comes.
Set up the board like below, with each player being dealt two Training cards and Two Sports cards. Players keep one sports card and place the other onto the spaces on the team village. Then shuffle into the two decks the Training Break card and New Personal Best card (training deck) and five Finals cards (sports deck) and place them on their spaces. One Finals card is added to the countdown track, along with one class token.
During their turn, each player is allowed to perform two actions. These actions include drawing a Training card from the top of the pile and adding it to their hand (with the maximum being seven cards), purchasing a Sports card from the board by using Training cards (the cost corresponds to the number of sports on the card, with an additional training point required for the farthest left card and four extra points for those on the right), or exchanging all four Sports cards with four new ones from the deck. Players have the option to repeat the same action twice before passing the turn to the next player.
When a Sports card is purchased, the remaining cards move down, decreasing in cost, and the empty space on the far right of the deck is filled. Among these cards are the five Finals cards. As each Finals card is revealed, it is placed on the countdown track with a class token placed on top of it.
After each player has taken a turn and play returns to the starting player, all Finals cards shift one space to the right. When a Finals card reaches the far right position, a final round is initiated. Players holding Sports cards matching the current Final class token must then assemble their teams to compete in this final. The player with the strongest team wins a Gold medal and ten points. Silver earns eight points, and Bronze awards six points. The strength of each team is determined by the number of sports depicted on all the entered cards, with an additional sport granted for each repeated sport. For instance, if a player submits five cards, each featuring an Urban Sports event (the final being contested), and these cards display a total of 14 sport icons, the player gains extra points for the three BMX icons, three skateboarding icons, three street dancing icons, two speed climbing icons, and two BMX Freestyle icons, resulting in a total of 27 points. Although it may seem complex, you will quickly grasp the concept. All cards used in the finals are discarded, and the game resumes as usual. The game concludes after the sixth final is completed.
This game is a little more complex, but still very family-friendly; I have found most players can get their heads round it in just a few minutes. It feels more of a game than Go For Gold, and the scoring, although complex at first, offers you the chance to create some interesting hands for each of the finals. Selecting which cards to buy as you build you hand is crucial, looking for the right card form the right discipline, but also matching events you already hold in your hand. Of course, there is a fair bit if luck here, but with four cards available at all times, and each card double sided, there is usually a good choice available. And you can always swop them all out if you prefer. It is an enjoyable hand management experience that will set you up for a great summer of sport!